Hey everyone! I'm a HUGE cat lover and have been looking for some time for an emotional support pet. I have bipolar disorder which can lead to pretty intense bouts of depression, that coupled with other concerns has made it quite difficult for me to form proper relationships with other people, leaving me isolated especially during depressions. Typically people choose dogs for ESA's but I find cats more suitable for my personality and more appealing in general. I've read Syphynx's are a highly intelligent breed and are known to be friendly and relatively affectionate. If you have any information on Syphnx's in or around SoFlo please let me know!

How do you go about getting a Sphynx certified as an emotional support animal? I am disabled, and one of my disabilities is social anxiety so I have a very difficult time talking to people and going just about anywhere. I also have autism. I would love to get my girl Tank certified so she can accompany me to stores and appointments! Best of luck to you in your Sphynx search!!

How do you go about getting a Sphynx certified as an emotional support animal? I am disabled, and one of my disabilities is social anxiety so I have a very difficult time talking to people and going just about anywhere. I also have autism. I would love to get my girl Tank certified so she can accompany me to stores and appointments! Best of luck to you in your Sphynx search!!

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I copied this info since I couldn’t post a link, hope this helps:

To qualify for an ESA you must be certified as emotionally disabled by a psychologist, therapist, psychiatrist or other duly-licensed and/or certified mental health professional. This certification should be a formal and appropriately formatted letter.

Any other kind of doctor – a cardiologist, for instance – does not quality as a mental health professional because unlike a psychiatrist, other medical doctors are not specialists in mental health. Some property managers of apartments and airlines, however, accept verification forms filled out by a family physician. Ensure that you have the correct authority that writes the letter for you.

The emotional support animal letter must be written on the mental health professional’s letterhead, include his or her license type, date of license, license number, and the state which issued the license. Moreover, it should have the date when it was written. A sample of the request letter can be viewed at the official website of Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, but there are other websites that have the same kind of samples which you may prefer.

What the Letter Must Contain

Your letter must contain some details which will inform the recipient that you are:

A current patient of the signing mental health professional.

Under this mental health professional care and treatment of your disability which is described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders Version IV or V.

Substantially limited in performing or participating in at least one of life’s major activities because of your disability.

Being prescribed an ESA as an integral part for the treatment of your current condition.

The ESA letter must be dated no later than a year from the date of your departure.

1. An "emotional support animal" is one that provides emotional support by just being there. 2. A "service animal" is one that has been trained to perform a specific service, such as a seeing eye dog that helps a blind person get around.

Cats don't qualify to be service animals. The only thing cats can be is emotional support animals.

How emotional support and service animals are alike - you need a letter from a doctor for both of them. Both are protected by fair housing laws so your landlord can't tell you that you can't have them.

How they are different - service animals are specially trained to do some specific service besides just being there for the owner. Only service animals can accompany their person into public places.